At noon, the Malibu mansion hummed with professional activity. Two culinary chefs, expensively hired from a top-tier hotel, arrived with a small catering cart laden with pristine, high-quality ingredients. They immediately began setting up in the massive kitchen.
Tony Stark, still holding a tablet, was operating a complex holographic interface—his mind perpetually running at maximum processing speed.
Leo was also holding a tablet, nonchalantly scrolling through global current events, when a local headline suddenly caught his eye.
"Malibu Serial Murder Case Solved; The Killer is Already Deceased!"
The article detailed the finding: "Early this morning, Officer Chandler, while on routine patrol, encountered an abandoned taxi on the roadside with a deceased male nearby. The subsequent investigation, based on fingerprints and forensic traces at the scene, confirmed that the dead individual was indeed the perpetrator of the previous dozen or so robbery-murders that have plagued the region."
Leo read the report twice. It was the same criminal from last night. He felt a small, cold satisfaction. He had rarely bothered with local news, but now he understood the sheer scope of the evil he had extinguished. The world was measurably safer, thanks to his swift, final judgment.
Tony found Leo's sudden, intense focus strange. He pointed his laser pointer at Leo's tablet screen twice, and the exact interface instantly popped up on his massive computer monitor.
"Murder case? The killer's dead? Leo, why the sudden interest in regional crime blotters?" Tony asked, puzzled, looking from the grisly headline to the innocent face of the boy.
Leo glanced casually at the two chefs nearby, who were meticulously slicing truffles, and shrugged. "It's nothing, Mr. Stark. I was just clicking around. Did you know about this guy?"
"I haven't been paying attention," Tony said, turning his attention to the chefs. "Hurry up! We're starving! This kid here is still growing. You're harming the youth of America with your slow pace!"
Soon, a magnificent, sumptuous feast was served. Stark had explicitly ordered enough food for four very hungry adults, wanting to personally verify Pepper's claims about Leo's absurd appetite.
As the top-tier food arrived—the best filet mignon, delicate truffles, pristine caviar, and air-freighted seafood—Leo's demeanor shifted. He began to eat with a terrifying speed and single-minded focus.
These top-notch delicacies finally offered enough raw energy for Leo to experience the fleeting joy of a truly satisfying meal. Tony even uncorked a vintage bottle of Bordeaux red wine, enjoying the expensive vintage alone, lamenting that Leo was underage.
Soon, the two professional chefs, exhausted and sweating from the frantic pace of cooking, couldn't keep up with Leo's consumption rate. Tony finally put down his wine glass, abandoning his meal entirely, and simply stared.
Leo's stomach seemed to operate like an incinerator; every calorie that went in was instantly converted into energy, leaving no visible trace. He finished his ninth steak, his third entire plate of fresh shrimp, two twelve-inch specialty pizzas, and countless side dishes. Throughout the entire process, his abdomen remained perfectly flat.
Tony just watched, mesmerized, as Leo single-handedly wiped out the vast spread of food. The two chefs, demoralized and defeated, packed up and swiftly departed, their astronomical wages instantly transferred by Stark Industries.
"Leo, is there a second dimension inside your stomach? Or is that a miniature, power-dampened black hole?" Tony stared wide-eyed at the small boy walking beside him. "You just ate half your own body weight in food. Where did it all go? Are you doing parlor tricks?"
Tony even tried to pick Leo up, testing the weight, but Leo hadn't gained or lost any significant mass.
"Although my expertise is mechanical, not biological, I am now morbidly curious about your body structure. Are you still willing to undergo that full testing suite?" Tony asked, cutting straight to the chase.
"I have absolutely no problem with testing, Mr. Stark," Leo replied with a calm smile. "As long as I'm not worried about delaying the production of the Mark II, or my necessary power source."
"It won't take long. To be honest, you remind me of a project I shelved ten years ago," Tony admitted, walking toward the lab. "Back then, I was trying to replicate the Super-Soldier Serum. I ran the models, but the calculations showed too much uncertainty and volatility. It was too dangerous to proceed, so I dropped it."
"I know," Leo nodded, following him. "You also encountered that nasty plant explosion at that woman's house on the last day of 1999, right?"
Leo continued, linking past events to current threats. "Back then, Captain America, Steve Rogers, was still the hero that most people admired. Because of that experiment, many things changed—including that big green monster that pops up occasionally. I think you know about him."
"Yeah, I know Banner," Tony grumbled.
"By the way, Captain America didn't actually die in the ice, you know."
"What?" Tony stopped dead in his tracks, his casual demeanor evaporating instantly.
"Yes. He'll be thawed out soon, and you'll finally have a chance to see him again! Fun fact: he was a very close friend of your father, Mr. Howard Stark. By seniority, you should probably call him Uncle Steve," Leo said with a teasing smile.
"Stop joking around," Tony said, laughing awkwardly, trying to dispel the shock of the revelation.
"Actually, I've always wondered something. You know I have extensive knowledge of the past and the future, yet you've rarely asked me about the big things. Why the self-control?" Leo asked as they arrived in the lab.
Tony picked up a sterile kit and began prepping the sampling instruments. "I don't want to know my future. That would limit my strategic thinking and my freedom. If I encounter something mission-critical I genuinely need to know, I will ask you. But not now."
"Okay, then. Let's draw the first vial of blood for testing," Tony said, his curiosity evident in his eyes.
Leo rolled up his sleeve and placed his arm on the sterile mat. He gently clenched his fist, causing his veins to bulge.
Tony brought the sterile syringe closer. He paused and squinted. "Leo, am I hallucinating? Your veins are actually glowing a little."
The needle descended, pricking the skin over the vein. The muscle slightly indented, but the needle did not penetrate. Even with Tony applying moderate force, the sharpened steel failed to puncture the flesh.
"Unbelievable. Is your skin that dense?" Tony exclaimed, frustrated. He released the needle. It had left only an invisible white dot, which vanished instantly as Leo relaxed his arm.
"My Defense enhancement just hit 50%. My skin has likely achieved a density nearing that of steel," Leo thought, slightly amused.
"Okay, let's try that again. I'll try not to use too much force," Leo offered, stifling a smile.
Tony, using nearly all his considerable strength and precision, pressed the needle tip against the skin again. The steel needle bent slightly under the pressure before it barely managed to pierce the incredibly dense outer layer and slide into the vein.
The connected small vacuum tube instantly began to absorb the blood. The bright red fluid flowed through the catheter, but it was mixed with something else: tiny, almost imperceptible specks of golden light were visible within the stream.
Tony's eyes widened to saucers. He leaned closer to the tube, staring at the strange, shimmering gold particles mixing with the hemoglobin.
The needle was pulled out. The tiny puncture wound sealed and healed in less than a second after Leo's feet touched the ground.
Tony rushed the small vial of blood to the observation station. He immediately extracted two drops for microscopic observation, ran half the remainder into the automated analysis machine, and placed the other half into a cryogenic freezer for long-term storage.
Under the microscope, however, the strange phenomenon vanished. The blood appeared perfectly normal; the golden light seemed to disappear upon external exposure.
"That's impossible! What was that glowing material?" Tony muttered, confused. The full machine test results would take a few hours.
"Leo, go test your physical fitness. I specifically prepared the equipment for you. It arrived earlier today," Tony said, pointing toward a specialized rig hidden under a canvas. "The load capacity is rated for one ton, with an accuracy of one hundred grams. I look forward to your performance."